Fidor Bank @ficoba Germany's coolest bank to offer Bitcoin accounts

As the legitimization of virtual currency gains traction worldwide, German internet based bank Fidor Bank yesterday formed a strategic partnership with bitcoin.de to offer customers the ability to operate a Bitcoin-based bank account. Oliver Flaskamper, Managing Director of Bitcoin Deutschland GmbH (bitcoin.de) posted a statement on the firm’s website yesterday in which he leveled at dissenters of virtual currency whom according to Mr. Flaskamper “smiled at the digital currency and considered it internet play money”. Institutionalization of Bitcoin? Mr. Flaskamper believes that the virtual currency is becoming accepted as a genuine alternative to fiat currency at the moment more so than ever before, a viewpoint which is certainly borne out by the exponential increases in worldwide Bitcoin hashrates that have occurred over just the last two to three months. Hashrates since ...